Certified Organic Vegetables & CSA in Central VT

CSA Newsletter: Week 10

Goodbye Sheep, Hello Pond

CSA Pick-Up August 4-8

We apologize for the very tardy farm note this week! I don’t even have a farm-excuse, but rather that I was at a wedding shower on Sunday and got back very late. But isn’t it good for your farmer to take a break, too? Of course, the farm has been moving forward in some big ways this week that have kept me busy away from the computer.

Some of you may know that we decided to sell our sheep flock. Half of the flock went to our friends Kate and Nick who run The Longest Acre Farm in Washington, VT. The remaining lambs now live on an educational farm in Shelburne. And, to make sure our freezers would still be full for the rest of the year, we said goodbye to the last of the flock on Monday and brought them to Royal Butcher in Randolph. Soon we’ll have kebab, stew meat, and sausage for sale, as well as some beautiful pelts. You can read more about saying goodbye to the sheep on Katie’s blog. We are now looking forward to putting more energy into the garden and CSA.

Another big development on the farm this week is a new pond! It’s situated between the farm store and the gardens, and we’re excited to have a pond both for irrigation in dry times, and for cooling off on hot days. The excavator hit ground water, and it’s slowly seeping in to fill it up. The soil is heavy with clay, and we anticipate the next few rains will help fill the pond even faster.

One last note: this is our half-way point through the season and last week of the Salad share. For salad share members, you are welcome to sign up for another 10 weeks of salad greens, and/or join the full share at a pro-rated price.

Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and blanch until just barely tender, about 3 minutes. Drain well.

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the beans, oregano, and tomatoes. Cook until the beans are heated through, about 3 minutes longer.